Education for sustainable development

1       Background

In March 2019, the joint framework for climate commitments developed by Chalmers and KTH was presented. The purpose of the climate framework was to mobilize higher education institutions in Sweden to take their responsibility in the climate transition. The framework was intended to serve as support in the universities' strategic climate work.

Many higher education institutions came to join the framework. This led to discussions about whether the framework could be incorporated into the Swedish Association of Higher Education (SUHF) work with university recommendations. One advantage is that there is a structure for decisions and revisions.

SUHF's expert group for collaboration was commissioned to develop a framework adapted to SUHF. The higher education institutions were given the opportunity to comment on the documents via the network for environmental management at universities and colleges (MLUH). The result was that the climate framework was adopted in revised form by SUHF in October 2021.

On the initiative of SUHF's expert group for collaboration, the "Association of Swedish Climate Networks" was then started up to contribute to the sector contributing to the societal transition in accordance with the Paris Agreement, with the help of, among other things, the developed framework. Eventually, the name was changed to "The University Climate Network". In the text below, it is referred to as the "Climate Network".

2       The project

The Climate Network is a project that runs over four years (2022-2025). It will benefit all higher education institutions in the country and be a driving force in the issue of changing the entire sector to work more action-oriented and to achieve the changes required for the climate transition. The network is governed by a host constellation. For more information about the Climate Network on an overall level, see the project plan and the Climate Network's website.

3       Focus group: Education for sustainable development

It is of the utmost importance that all students acquire good knowledge and abilities in sustainable development during their studies as it has a major impact on how they act in their future professional roles. In this way, higher education institutions can indirectly contribute to reducing future emissions and adapting our society to a changed climate, but also to preventing and managing other sustainability challenges, such as poverty, pandemics, resource utilization, migration, and armed conflict.

The overall goal of the focus group is to create better conditions for teachers in academia so that they can integrate sustainability perspectives in their teaching and in their pedagogical development measures.

A successful transition in academia requires changes at the individual as well as structural level. Therefore, the focus group may also develop proposals for changes in academic institutions' organizational and merit systems if these can be expected to create better conditions for teachers to put their knowledge and skills linked to learning for sustainable development into practice.

3.1       Project structure

The work in the Climate Network will largely take place in focus groups. The focus groups are responsible for different focus areas and are led by a focus group leader. A focus group can conclude its work before the four-year period of the Climate Network has passed.

3.2       Purpose

The starting point is that the work of all focus groups aims to:

• That all higher education institutions fulfil their part of the Paris Agreement
• To strengthen collaboration, learning and exchanges between higher education institutions in the climate field with a special focus on the entire sector
• To catalyze new perspectives and ideas on how higher education institutions can contribute to the climate transition through research, education and collaboration, and through reduced climate footprint from the higher education institutions' own activities
• To work for new perspectives and ideas, where possible, to be based on research-based knowledge

3.3       Goal (expected result)

The expected results from the focus group consist of mapping and making available different forms of exchange of experience and competence development for teachers, through:

• strengthen a living network of educators and support functions for an exchange of knowledge, method and experience in learning for sustainable development (i.e., the competencies students need to develop in order to contribute to sustainability) and about pedagogical approaches that are suitable for teaching complex sustainability issues (i.e., how teaching can be planned and implemented)
  
  
• creating platforms or processes to disseminate understanding of progression in teaching for sustainable development, both in individual courses and degree programs
  
  
• investigating opportunities to develop structures and processes linked to guidance, recruitment, qualification and promotion of teachers, linked to learning for sustainable development
  
  
• carrying out standardised measurement and monitoring of progress in integrating sustainability perspectives into higher education for the whole sector. It is suggested that this be done in contact with the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and/or the Ministry of Education)

3.4     Focus group leader's responsibilities

The focus group leader is responsible for:

• forming a focus group
  
  
• administering regular meetings
  
  
• to make a written and follow-up action plan based on the focus group's goals/expected results
  
  
• reporting results
  
  
• handling all communication related to the focus group (e.g. internally with the host constellation and externally towards different stakeholders), in writing and orally
  
  
• participating in events arranged by the host constellation and present their own work and network with other focus group leadersMaking good examples available to all higher education institutions and other actors outside the higher education sector
  
  
• organising workshops.

3.5     Who can participate in the work of the focus group?

The focus groups (as well as the Climate Network as a whole) are a collaboration that is open to all higher education institutions within SUHF, but also higher education institutions that are not part of SUHF can participate.

3.6   Stakeholders and resources

The most important stakeholders for the focus group in learning for sustainable development are teachers and students in higher education, university and college management, higher education pedagogical development units, the MLUH network (Environmental Management in Universities and Colleges) and the Association of Swedish Higher Education (SUHF).

3.7       Boundaries

The focus group is limited to dealing with the higher education sector's sphere of responsibility and influence. The focus group may give recommendations to actors in other sectors (e.g., the school system, students' future employers), but it is not part of the group's work to actively work for change in these sectors. The focus group is also limited to learning for sustainable development, which means that the following three aspects are met:

(1) a content focus that integrates ecological, social and economic sustainability, (2) a desire to develop students' key competences for sustainable development, and (3) the use of pedagogical approaches that are consistent with the values underlying sustainable development. Furthermore, the focus group's work will be based on research and proven experience.

3.8   Budget

The focus group leader has the opportunity for about 20-30% of a position incl. stencils for social security contributions, travel, premises, etc. up to two years.

3.9 Follow-up

With the help of the focus group, the focus group leader must report annually on the progress of the work. The focus will be on follow-up of the action plan to see if we are approaching the expected results.

In addition to the annual reporting, the focus group leader shall have ongoing reconciliations with the host constellation. The reconciliation meetings are part of the host constellation's regular meetings.

4     Risks

The primary risk for the focus group is that the processes, platforms and structures (the expected results) are not sufficiently disseminated or not adopted by all higher education institutions in a satisfactory way. Another risk is that there may be insufficient time among the focus group members to continuously work with the focus group's priority areas.